Watch Metallica's first and only performance of “Justice” track “To Live Is to Die”

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Blackened Recordings

Blackened Recordings Leading up to the upcoming deluxe reissue of …And Justice for All, Metallica has been uploading live videos for each of the 1988 album’s songs. They’ve now shared the video for the one and only time they performed “To Live Is to Die” in concert.

The track’s live debut finally happened during a concert in San Francisco on December 7, 2011 — a full 23 years after …And Justice for All was originally released. You can watch the performance now on YouTube.

It’s easy to see why Metallica wouldn’t trot “To Live Is to Die” out live very often — it’s a mostly instrumental track that goes for nearly 10 minutes on the album. There’s also an emotional component, as “To Live Is to Die” was written as a tribute to the late Cliff Burton, and includes riffs that the bassist wrote before his death in 1986. The song is the final Metallica track to be released that included a writing credit for Burton.

The …And Justice for All reissue will be released November 2.

Metallica is currently touring the U.S. behind the band’s latest album, 2016’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct. The outing continues Thursday night in Philadelphia.

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